Ginseng Chrysanthemum Tea

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I love American ginseng and because of its inherent cooling properties, it is a perfect ingredient in hot and humid Singapore. The one I used is the inexpensive type called American ginseng “fibers” or “beards” which are small, thin and wispy looking. You can easily get a packet for less than S$10 here. This type of ginseng is frequently used for cooking dishes such as ginseng chicken soup and foil-wrapped steamed ginseng with chicken, but you can also make a cooling herbal tea with it. In this recipe, ginseng is paired with chrysanthemum flowers, a popular combination. This is a great tasting and cooling herbal drink which is ultra refreshing especially in hot weather.

American Ginseng, 洋参须 & Chrysanthemum Flowers (菊花)

A well known property of this ginseng is that it is very ‘cooling’. So consuming it will supposedly reduce your body “heatiness” (降火). It is also known to keep one mentally alert (提神), therefore you should avoid consuming this this drink too close to bedtime. Read more about American ginseng fiber here. As for Chrysanthemum, it is known to be cooling, thirst-quenching and detoxifying. This is one healthy Chinese herbal drink to make now and then for the family.

Directions
1. Bring chrysanthemum flowers and water to a boil in a pot. Reduce heat and simmer for less than a minute. Take out the chrysanthemum using a strainer.
2. Add ginseng and simmer for another 5 minutes. Take out ginseng using a strainer.
3. Add rock sugar to taste and off fire when the sugar has dissolved. Serve the drink at room temperature or chilled.

Cooking Notes
1. If you do not want to use a strainer, you can put the ginseng and chrysanthemum flowers in disposable soup pouches and discard the entire pouch after simmering.

30 comments on “Ginseng Chrysanthemum Tea”

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I don’t know why I will feel giddy :? when I smell chrysanthemum and feel nausea :mrgreen: when I drink ginseng tea since young. My hubby said I got a weird “allergy”. :P Can you imagine I had to pinch my nose when I make chrysanthemum tea for my hubby. :roll: hahaha …

Congratulations on winning the Cookthink’Pumpkin challenge! It was a well deserved win! :up: :D

Hi, I got mine from Hock Hua (Fu Hua) Medical Hall, they are located at shopping malls. You can check out any Chinese medical halls too. It’s about S$5 a packet but there are varying prices for different grades.